Background
Study site description
Methods
Study design
Subject Selection
Data collection
Ethical issues
Statistical issues
Results
Descriptive results
Characteristic | Frequency | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Women
| 280 | 69.8 |
Men
| 121 | 30.2 |
Median age (IQR)
| 11 | 2.74 |
Education level
| ||
None
| 54 | 13.5 |
Primary
| 204 | 50.9 |
Secondary
| 130 | 32.4 |
Tertiary
| 13 | 3.24 |
Religion
| ||
Catholic
| 109 | 27.2 |
Anglican
| 132 | 32.9 |
Muslim
| 73 | 18.2 |
Pentecost
| 77 | 19.2 |
Advents
| 8 | 2.0 |
Other
| 2 | 0.5 |
Marital status
| ||
Single
| 73 | 18.2 |
Married
| 138 | 34.4 |
Divorced/Separated
| 72 | 18 |
Widowed
| 118 | 29.4 |
Occupation
| ||
Self employed
| 195 | 48.6 |
Salary earners
| 68 | 17.0 |
Peasant farmers
| 55 | 13.7 |
Housewife
| 23 | 5.7 |
None
| 59 | 14.7 |
Student
| 1 | 0.2 |
Prevalence of THM use
Variable | Herbal users | Prevalence of THM use | 95% CI |
---|---|---|---|
Overall herbal use
| 135/401 | 33.7 | 29.1 - 38.4 |
Sex
| |||
Men | 33/121 | 27.3 | 19.9 - 35.7 |
Women | 102/280 | 36.4 | 30.9 - 42.1 |
Age (categorized at median age)
| |||
≤ 38 years | 56/211 | 26.5 | 25.8 - 27.2 |
≥ 39 years | 79/190 | 41.6 | 41.0 - 42.2 |
Religion
| |||
Christian | 120/326 | 36.6 | 31.7 - 42.1 |
Muslim | 15/73 | 20.5 | 12.4 - 30.9 |
Marital Status
| |||
Single | 101/263 | 38.4 | 32.6 - 44.3 |
Married | 34/138 | 24.6 | 17.9 - 32.3 |
Highest education level attained
| |||
Primary | 69/204 | 33.8 | 27.5 - 40.5 |
Secondary | 45/130 | 34.6 | 26.8 - 43.1 |
Tertiary | 4/13 | 30.8 | 10.6 - 58.7 |
None | 17/54 | 31.5 | 20.1 - 44.7 |
Occupation
| |||
Employed | 83/263 | 31.6 | 21.6 - 37.3 |
Not employed | 52/138 | 37.7 | 29.8 - 45.9 |
Location
| |||
Urban | 74/206 | 35.9 | 25.9 - 42.6 |
Rural | 61/195 | 31.3 | 25.0 - 38.0 |
Site
| |||
Entebbe | 57/168 | 33.9 | 27.0 - 41.3 |
Jinja | 78/233 | 33.5 | 27.6 - 39.7 |
Variable | Frequency (N = 135) | Percent |
---|---|---|
***
Reasons for herbal use
| ||
Constant Fever | 91 | 67.4 |
Too much Cough | 88 | 65.2 |
General pain of HIV | 71 | 52.6 |
Itchy skin | 58 | 43.0 |
Others | 58 | 43.0 |
To gain Energy | 52 | 38.5 |
Was Anemic | 39 | 28.9 |
Always fall sick | 39 | 28.9 |
Low immunity | 19 | 14.1 |
Loss/gain Appetite | 18 | 13.3 |
Diarrhea | 16 | 11.9 |
Too much sweat | 11 | 8.1 |
Herbal dosage per day
| ||
Half to one cup/glass | 128 | 94.8 |
One to two spoons | 60 | 44.4 |
No measurements | 17 | 12.6 |
Where herbs were got from
| ||
Herbalist | 54 | 40 |
Garden | 63 | 46.7 |
Friends/relatives | 14 | 10.4 |
Pharmacy | 4 | 7 |
**Experienced improvement with use of herbs
| ||
Yes | 130 | 96.3 |
Cannot tell | 5 | 3.7 |
Decision of herbal use
| ||
Friends | 71 | 52.6 |
Parents/Relatives | 38 | 28.1 |
Own decision/No one | 26 | 19.3 |
Patient's belief/perception of usefulness of ARVS
| ||
ARVs not yet helpful | 35 | 25.9 |
ARVs helpful | 100 | 74.1 |
Type of herb taken | Biological names | N = 135 (%) | Symptoms treated |
---|---|---|---|
Mpafu/jjlikiti/ |
Canariu m
schwcimf urthii
| Fever, Cough, Weakness | |
Erythrina abyssinica
| |||
Kasaana/ | |||
Mwooloola/ |
Entanda abyssinica
| 115(85.2) | |
Ovakedo |
Bersea Americana
| ||
P s i d i um guajava
| |||
Amapeera |
Mangifera in dica
| ||
Miyembe (leaves) | |||
Other Herbs | Just mentioned as "others" | 86(63.7) | Joint pains, Fever, cough |
Kadomola mixture | Can be mixture of food juice, or bark trees and s t e m s | 84(62.2) | Fever, Cough, oral thrash, stomach wounds, HIV pain, appetite, Diarrhea, body heat |
Plant roots and stems boiled | 78(57.8) | Fever, cough, back ace | |
Kigagi | Aloe Vera | 76(56.3) | Fever |
Don't know name of herb | 62(45.9) | Fever, body heat, energy | |
Bazukuza Bafu |
Hibiscus
| 61(45.2) | Anemia |
Kamunye Herb |
Hoslundia opposite
| 41(30.4) | Fever, stomach wounds |
Molinga Herb |
Oleifera
| 35(25.9) | Fever, weakness, appetite |
Muzukizi Herb |
Dicliptere laxata
| 33(24.4) | |
Kamwanyi Herb | 31(23.0) | Fever | |
Mululuza Herb |
Vernonia
a mygdalina
| 29(21.5) | Fever |
Boombo Herb |
Memodica f eo tida
| 26(19.3) | Cough |
Naloongo Herb |
Justicia betonica
| 21(15.6) | Fever |
Kikakala Herb | 21(15.6) | ||
Nim tree Herb | 20(14.8) | ||
Kanzironziro Herb |
P sorospermum febrifugum
| 20(14.8) | Body weakness |
Olubirizi Herb |
Vernonia
a mygdalina
| 18(13.3) | |
Musita Herb |
Albizia cariaria
| 17(12.6) | |
Nakakasero Herb | 16(11.9) | Fever | |
Own Urine (morning personal urine) | - | 15(11.1) | HIV generally |
Ngetwa Herb | Consists of 54 herbs (mainly from Tanzania) | 15(11.1) | Cough, fever, appetite, stomach pain, headache |
Olusazisazi Herb |
Cassia occidentalis
| 12(8.9) | |
Kambula Herb |
Cardiospermu m granflor um
| 9(6.7) 7(5.2) | |
Herbal Soap and jelly | - | Skin rash | |
Pressure herbs | - | 4(3.0) | High blood pressure, |
Bivariate analysis
Variable | Used herbal N = 135(%) | Not used herbal N = 266 (%) | Unadjusted OR (95%CI) | P- value |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sex
| ||||
Male | 33 (24.4) | 88 (33.1) | 1.00 |
0.076
|
Female | 102 (75.6) | 178 (66.9) | 0.65 (0.41 - 1.05) | |
Age (categorized at median age)
| ||||
≤ 38 years | 56 (41.5) | 155 (58.3) | 1.00 |
0.002
|
≥ 39 years | 79 (58.5) | 111 (41.7) | 0.51 (0.33 - 0.77) | |
*Religion
| ||||
Catholic | 42 (31.11) | 67 (25.19) | 1.59 (0.097 - 26.1) | 0.74 |
Protestant | 49 (36.30) | 83 (31.20) | 1.69 (0.01 - 27.6) | 0.71 |
Muslim | 15 (11.11) | 58 (21.80) | 3.86 (0.2 - 65.4) | 0.34 |
Pentecost | 24 (17.78) | 53 (19.92) | 2.2 (0.13 - 36.8) | 0.58 |
Other | 5 (3.70) | 5 (1.88) | 1.00 | |
Marital Status
| ||||
Married | 34 (25.2) | 104 (39.1) | 1.00 |
0.006
|
Not married | 101 (74.8) | 162 (60.9) | 1.91 (1.20 - 3.02) | |
Highest education level attained
| ||||
Primary | 69 (51.11) | 135 (50.75) | 1.00 | |
Secondary | 45 (33.33) | 85 (31.95) | 0.97 (0.61 - 1.54) | 0.882 |
Tertiary | 4 (2.96) | 9 (3.38) | 1.15 (0.34 - 3.88) | 0.822 |
None | 17 (12.59) | 37 (13.91) | 1.11 (0.58 - 2.12) | 0.746 |
Occupation
| ||||
Self employed | 62 (45.93) | 133 (50.00) | 1.00 | |
Salaried employed | 21 (15.56) | 47 (17.67) | 1.04 (0.57 - 1.90) | 0.889 |
None | 30 (22.22) | 53 (19.92) | 0.82 (0.48 - 1.41) | 0.481 |
Peasant | 22 (16.30) | 33 (12.41) | 0.70 (0.38 - 1.30) | 0.256 |
Variable | Used herbal N = 135(%) | Not used herbal N = 266 (%) | Unadjusted Odds ratio (95%CI) | P- value |
---|---|---|---|---|
Duration on HAART
| ||||
≥ 4 years | 25 (18.5) | 30 (11.3) | 1.00 |
0.064
|
< 4 years | 110 (81.5) | 236 (88.7) | 1.79 (1.00 - 3.18) | |
Ever experienced side effects
| ||||
No | 50 (37.0) | 146 (54.5) | 1.00 |
0.001
|
Yes | 85 (63.0) | 121 (45.5) | 2.04(1.33 - 3.12) | |
Adherence level in the last 3 months*
| ||||
75% - 95% | 3 (6.1) | 8 (9.4) | 1.00 | 0.74 |
> 95% | 46 (93.9) | 77 (90.6) | 0.6 (0.1 - 2.4) | |
Duration on herbs while on HAART
| ||||
< 6 months | 30 (22.22) | 35 (43.8) | 1.00 | |
6 - 12 months | 35 (25.93) | 16 (20.0) | 0.39 (0.18 - 0.86) |
0.016
|
More than a year | 70 (51.85) | 29 (36.3) | 0.35 (0.18 - 0.70) |
0.002
|
Ever changed regimen
| ||||
Yes | 39 (28.89) | 45 (16.92) | 1.00 | |
No | 96 (71.11) | 221 (83.08) | 2.00 (1.21 - 3.28) |
0.006
|
Herbs improved health
| ||||
Yes | 130(96.2) | 64() | 1.00 | |
Cannot tell | 5(3.8) | 16(6.02) | 2.64 (1.71 - 4.08) |
P < 0.001
|
Familiar with herbs
| ||||
Yes | 135 (100) | 218 (82.0) | 1.00 |
P < 0.001
|
No | 0 | 48 (18.0) | 0.62 (0.577 - 0.67) | |
Outcome expectation of Herbs
| ||||
Yes | 135 (100) | 62 (77.5) | 1.00 |
P < 0.001
|
No | 0 | 18 (22.5) | 0.32 (0.25 - 0.39) | |
Sexually active patients*
| ||||
Yes | 100 (74.60) | 120 (62.50) | 1.00 | |
No | 34 (25.40) | 72 (37.50) | 0.57 (0.35 - 0.92) |
0.023
|
Disclosure of HIV to others Status
| ||||
Yes | 119 (88.1) | 207 (77.8) | 1.00 | |
No | 16 (11.9) | 59 (22.2) | 2.12 (1.16 - 3.85) |
0.012
|
Multivariate analysis
Variable | Adjusted OR | 95% CI | P-value |
---|---|---|---|
Age categorized (median)
| |||
≤ 38 years | 1.00 | ||
≥ 39 years | 0.26 | 0.08 - 0.83 | 0.023 |
ART Adherence level
| |||
75% - 95% | 1.00 | ||
>95% | 0.09 | 0.01 - 0.65 | 0.017 |
Herbs improved health
| |||
Yes | 1.00 | ||
Cannot tell | 2.40 | 1.62 - 3.55 | 0.001 |
Duration on HAART
| |||
≥ 4 years | 1.00 | ||
< 4 years | 5.98 | 1.13 - 31.73 | 0.036 |
Ever experienced side effects
| |||
No | 1.00 | ||
Yes | 3.66 | 1.15 -11.68 | 0.028 |
Sexually active participant*
| |||
Yes | 1.00 | ||
No | 0.26 | 0.08 - 0.90 | 0.033 |